Chris Sailer Kicking recently gave seven kickers across the country a sixth star, which signifies elite status, and Arkansas commitment Cameron Little was one of them.
“There’s no doubt that he’s one of the most ready high school seniors to step in and play next year as a true freshman at any school,” Sailer said.
Sailer, who was two-time consensus All-American as both a place-kicker and punter at UCLA, said Little stood out at a few Sailer camps in Texas.
“He wins every competition,” Sailer said. “It’s very hard to beat him because he doesn’t miss.”
Little, 6-2, 170 pounds, of Moore (Okla.) Southmoore, chose Arkansas over offers from Colorado, Oklahoma State, Nevada, Air Force, Army and Navy on July 22.
He made 5 of 7 field goal attempts with a long of 46 yards as a junior. He made all 14 of his extra-point attempts and punted 26 times for a 34.3-yard average. Nine of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Little, who was recruited by special teams coordinator Scott Fountain, also had 26 kickoffs – 20 resulting in touchbacks.
At the Chris Sailer Kicking national event in Las Vegas featuring more than 600 athletes, Little was selected to play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January.
“He was the very first kicker to be selected for the All-American Bowl on NBC, which is the absolute highest honor for a high school player,” Sailer said. “He did so by defeating 25 other guys who also are going to be playing and get scholarships at the Division I level.”
Little also shined at Sailer’s Top 12 camp, which featured 45 of the best kickers and punters in the nation.
“Once again, absolutely dominated,” Sailer said. “That’s the reason we have him currently rated the No. 2 kicker in America.”
Sailer explained why he started giving out a sixth star to the top kickers.
“Unfortunately, the five-star system has been watered down, not with us and our company, but kind of nationwide, so when you look at someone like Cameron and look at someone who’s rated somehow 70, who’s also a five star, there was no comparison,” Sailer said. “So over time I think too many five stars have been given as opposed to earned, and I wanted to find a way to differentiate those absolute elite players who we feel like can step into any program as a true freshman and physically and also more importantly mentally handle the challenge of starting at FBS Power 5 as a true freshman.”
When college programs like Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida State and others call Sailer, he described his spiel when asked his recommendations of the elite kickers.
“We say without a doubt, 100 percent, I stand behind this kid,” Sailer said. “He’ll come in and be a phenomenal player for you as a true freshman. Those are the guys we rated as six stars.”
Little is rated a 5-star and the No. 7 punter nationally. Sailer said Little could be rated higher if he wasn’t focused on kicking and concentrated on punting. He noted Little averaged 40 yards per punt with ease while having hang time of 4.5-4.6 seconds.
“If he could never kick again and he was just a punter he would be able to land a scholarship as a punter, too,” Sailer said. “He’s that good.”
Little is a good teammate and is a solid fit in the locker room, Sailer added. After being in business for 20 years, he said Little is one of the best he has evaluated.
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen in competition I guess is the biggest thing to note,” Sailer said. “I’ve never seen a kid who will win consistently against top talent and top competitors.”